2016 Election Day by the numbers

Clinton supporters left shocked after stunning defeat

Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Wednesday introduced legislation to close what she calls an automatic weapons loophole that allows gun owners to convert semi-automatic rifles into rapid-fire automatic machines. The gunman who killed 59 people and injured more than 500 others in Las Vegas, Nevada had a dozen guns that were outfitted with a “bump stock” device. C-SPAN

Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Wednesday introduced legislation to close what she calls an automatic weapons loophole that allows gun owners to convert semi-automatic rifles into rapid-fire automatic machines. The gunman who killed 59 people and injured more than 500 others in Las Vegas, Nevada had a dozen guns that were outfitted with a “bump stock” device. C-SPAN

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California announced Monday that she will seek a fifth full term next year, ending months of speculation as a growing stable of possible Democratic successors sat in waiting.

“I am running for reelection to the Senate,” Feinstein, who would be 85 when sworn in for another six-year term, wrote on Twitter. “Lots more to do: ending gun violence, combating climate change, access to healthcare. I’m all in!”

Should Feinstein, a Democrat, win and remain in her seat through 2021, she would become the longest-serving senator in California history, passing Hiram Johnson, who served 28 years starting in 1917.

Feinstein has been showing all of the signs of another run in 2018, holding fundraisers and town hall meetings, and remaining an integral figure in Congress on gun-control and through her judiciary and intelligence committee posts. But pressure from her left has intensified of late.

She has raised millions for her re-election, and her personal fortune gives her access to millions more should she need it. A new website accompanying her announcement contends that “It’s more critical than ever” to have her in the Senate, where she offers “common sense solutions.”

“Dianne’s career has been one of firsts – she was the first woman President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the first woman mayor of San Francisco, the first woman elected Senator of California, and the first woman member of the Senate Judiciary Committee,” the statement says. “She’s continuing her record of public service in the Senate, working on critical issues and the fight for the values we hold dear.”

Speculation that she would not run again had persisted, fanning the political ambitions of a new generation of Californians, from Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Rep. Adam Schiff of Burbank.

Garcetti has repeatedly praised the work of Feinstein, saying he hoped she would run again. On Monday, Padilla wrote on Twitter that she has delivered for California. “At a time when so much we hold dear is under attack, we need her in the US Senate. I stand with her,” he said.

With Feinstein in, the question becomes whether anyone else challenges her, the likeliest being de León, who is termed out of the state Senate and has questioned her calls for patience with President Donald Trump.

With the prospect of a tough campaign, Feinstein’s Senate colleague, Democrat Kamala Harris, released a statement early Monday reiterating support.

“What Californians get from Dianne is someone who sticks to her principles and achieves results regardless of powerful opponents, from the assault weapons ban to the CIA torture report,” Harris said.

“We are better off with her leadership and I look forward to continuing to fight together for California in the Senate.”

2016 Election Day by the numbers

Clinton supporters left shocked after stunning defeat

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Aug. 29, 2017 appeared at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, and said Donald Trump may be a good president over time. “The question is whether he can learn and change. If so, I believe he can be a good president.” She was booed at some stages of her talk with former Rep. Ellen Tauscher. She would not answer questions about whether she will seek re-election next year. Video courtesy of the Commonwealth Club. Commonwealth Club